Who else is with me?

 

So I discovered "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" on YouTube. Werner Herzog´s 1972 quasi-historical drama, featuring Klaus Kinski, used to be something of a cult movie. I saw it on TV when very young, but only remember the opening scene and the ending. Now, I´ve seen it again. "Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes" (the original German title) comes across as a peculiar blend of B-movie and surrealist work of art. It´s *very* loosely based on the life of rogue conquistador (more rogue than usual) Lope de Aguirre and his debased exploits in search of the famed kingdom of El Dorado. 

I have no idea what Herzog wanted to say with this production, but it does come across as yet another story of how civilized White men go crazy in the jungle. Except that in this case, the colonialists aren´t very civilized to begin with, enslaving people as they frantically search for gold or "converts" to their hypocritical Christian faith. 

To some extent, the whole thing comes across as parody. A self-proclaimed "emperor" has a sumptuous meal in the wilderness, attended to by a Black slave, while bragging that his "kingdom" is already six times larger than Spain. Yet, he really just eats fruit from the jungle, drink river water and have no salt, his "empire" being no larger than a raft. All kinds of allegorical meanings can be imputed to this, obviously! It´s pretty obvious from the start that Aguirre´s expedition will end in failure.

More disturbing are the hints that Aguirre has an incestuous relation with his daughter, and his sudden descent into madness. (Bizarrely, the actor Klaus Kinski was half-mad in real life and was later accused of abusing one of his daugthers!) The idea of a hubristic conqueror who fancies himself being "the wrath of God" can also be interpreted in various allegorical ways. At one point, Aguirre claims to be able to control the birds. Is Aguirre modern or faustian man, who thinks he can rule over Nature, while actually being mercilessly destroyed by it? Note also that he is a traitor, leading a mutiny, while trying to reach an edenic city. Is he a fallen Adam or a Cain, trying to stage an inverted exodus to the promised land?

Or is it just a failed, borderline turkey movie? But then, that´s how much of world history also comes across...